ROCKLAND, Maine — A 47-year-old St. George man is asking a judge to lower his bail so that he can be released from jail and receive medical treatment while awaiting trial on numerous burglary charges.

Ricky Block appeared before Justice Jeffrey Hjelm on Monday morning in Knox County Superior Court. Block is being held on $15,000 cash bail after being indicted in February for 11 counts of burglary, 13 counts of theft, and one count each of criminal mischief and violating a condition of release.

Police say he committed the crimes from February through November 2012 in Rockland, Thomaston, St. George, South Thomaston, Cushing and Warren.

Defense attorney Roger Hurley argued Monday that Block should be released for health reasons. His client needs to receive treatment for a liver illness, the attorney said. He said his client would agree to a condition that he report twice daily to a police agency if he is released on bail.

Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Baroody asked that the bail remain at $15,000 cash. Block has 19 prior convictions for burglary and 10 for theft since 1989, the prosecutor said. Block was already on bail for a series of burglaries last fall when he was arrested for another burglary on Nov. 2. Block had been cooperating with police and leading them to the items stolen before he allegedly committed the latest burglary, Baroody said.

The prosecutor also pointed out that Block had been convicted in 2004 of failing to appear in court.

The defense attorney disputed those statements, saying that Block has denied he committed the crimes last year but instead was an informant, leading police to possessions stolen by others.

Hurley also said that while there was a conviction for failure to appear, his client maintains that he had been at Acadia Hospital in Bangor when he failed to show up for a court hearing.

Hjelm said he would take the matter under advisement and issue a decision within a few days.